Have you had your Welsh rates of income tax letter yet?

26 Nov 2018 01:20 PM

2 million letters and leaflets are being sent to households across Wales to tell taxpayers about the new Welsh rates of income tax, which will be introduced in April 2019.

The letter from HMRC, accompanied by a Welsh Government leaflet, about Welsh rates of income tax, tells taxpayers living in Wales that their tax code will begin with a C from 6 April.

Taxpayers in Wales will see no difference to the income tax they pay in 2019-20 following the introduction of Welsh rates of income tax. But from 6 April 2019, for the first time, some of the income tax raised in Wales will be paid directly to the Welsh Government to spend on public services in Wales. This is a change from the current system, where all income tax paid by taxpayers living in Wales is paid to the UK government to fund spending across the UK.

The Welsh Government will propose the rates for Welsh rates of income tax and they will be voted on by the National Assembly for Wales.

Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford yesterday said:

“The Welsh Government has proposed setting the first Welsh rates of income tax at 10p. This means that when the new arrangements are introduced in April, Welsh taxpayers will continue to pay the same overall income tax rates as English and Northern Irish taxpayers.

“All income tax paid by people living in Wales will continue to be collected as one payment, as usual, but the money raised in Wales will stay in Wales to spend on our public services, such as schools, hospitals and roads.”

The introduction of Welsh rates of income tax follows the successful introduction of land transaction tax and landfill disposals tax in April 2018 – the first Welsh taxes in almost 800 years – which replaced stamp duty land tax and landfill tax.

More information about Welsh rates of income tax is available on gov.wales. You can also follow the campaign on Twitter:

#MyTaxMyWales @WelshTreasury